The Key
by BlueRegina06
Summary: Everybody holds a key, a key that opens one or more doors, doors that lead to a secret truth. What kind of truth will Jellal find in that ethereal, red-haired woman? But then... What sort of truth does he hide behind his closed doors? - AU, mature, swearing, some violence.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story. I'll try my best to entertain you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. **

**XXXX**

_It had to be her red hair. Or maybe the maroon freckles littering the bridge of her cutely upturned nose and rosy cheeks. Or her chocolate brown, almond eyes. Even her rare, bright smile._

_Damn, everything about her was absolutely perfect._

Jellal sighed dreamily and stared at the woman seated on table 6. He was supposed to be cleaning the bar stool until it shined like the the summer sun, however he suffered from a severe case of I-can't-tear-my-eyes-off-the-woman-on-table-six inflammation.

The red haired beauty first came in the restaurant/bar/café Jellal was currently working at about a month ago or so and since then, she had been there every day, seated on the same table, ordering the same cinnamon tea and chocolate muffin. She would stay from five o' clock until seven thirty, or rarely eight, the whole time working on either her laptop or drawing on a notebook full of little, neat letters.

It was love at first sight. You know this feeling when you see someone and you just know it that they are it for you? Yeah, that was pretty much what Jellal had felt when he first saw her.

And it was only getting worse by the day.

Jellal sighed again. _It was pathetic, really._ He knew exactly her schedule - well, it wasn't very variable so to say - he had noticed every single one of the movements she made, for instance, tapping her full bottom lip when she was thinking, or restlessly moving her leg up and down when working on her laptop, however, he had never served her or spoken to her.

_He couldn't. He just couldn't._

His attitude was surprising for everybody that knew him, even for himself too. Jellal had never been the one to shy around women, on the contrary actually; he was pretty forward about what he wanted and what not, flirting being one his strongest assets - and sex of course, but let's be more appropriate, yes? - his bad-boy aura had all women swooning all over him. Besides, he had stand-out, natural dark blue hair, brown eyes and a daring tattoo on his face. He was working out too, if that was considered as an addition to his charm.

The redhead however was something else. Jellal couldn't bring himself to just... go for it. Maybe he was afraid of rejection. Or that he would turn her off with the lame-ass stuttering he was so sure he would be doing the moment he opened his mouth to talk to her. _Who knew?_

"Oi, Jellal," called an amused female voice from his left, startling him enough to make him jump, "You're droolin' all over the place you're supposed to clean!"

Jellal scowled darkly at his co-worker and best friend, Urtear. "Fuck you," he muttered and slammed the rag he was holding on the bar. Ur, the stupid bitch, busted out laughing at him, until she was wiping tears off her eyes.

"You're such a helpless case, Jellal Fernandes," she crooned and patted his shoulder in sympathy, "It pains me to watch, seriously."

"'M not, shuddup," he mumbled defiantly but deep inside of him he knew that she was right.

"Why don't ya go to serve her? Ask if she wants more tea. Yer the waiter after all," the tall woman suggested, tucking her long brown hair into a ponytail.

Jellal gave his friend a blank stare and stayed silent. Urtear knew exactly how he felt about this situation - he had shared all of his emotions during a night he had drunk his body weight in alcohol - yet still, she encouraged him to proceed. _Females_.

Urtear rolled her eyes at his childish reaction. "Jellal, honestly, I don't understand why you're doing this to yourself. She's not so fuckin' different from the other women you've-"

"Urtear," Jellal interrupted her curtly, efficiently silencing her with his tone, "It's not the right time."

The woman sighed dramatically and rubbed the bridge of her straight nose in frustration, before turning on her heel. "You're such a douche," she muttered before disappearing in the kitchen.

He _was_ a douche. A cowardly douche most specifically. But that didn't change the fact that the redhead was out of reach for him._Was it because she was so beautiful? _No, that wasn't it. Jellal had encountered beautiful women before.

What made _her_ so unapproachable? She had that... That aura of superiority, that aura of you-better-not-fuck-with-me-or-else, which of course stung Jellal's male pride a little and made him hesitant. On one hand, was a confident motherfucker, that was for sure, but maybe he had found his Master.

Again; _who knew?_

The restaurant was relatively empty thus Jellal decided it was time to clean the tables around table 6. A pathetic excuse to simply go around his crush and be near her.

She didn't notice him when he came around. She didn't even raise her head to look at him. Although it hurt his innocent feelings just a tiny bit, Jellal knew that she was busy to care about her surroundings.

His dark brown eyes followed her every movement as she breathed, frowned, mumbled and hummed in front of her laptop, while he absently cleaned a random table. However, his breath was stolen away when her face broke into one of those rare, huge grins, her sweet voice sounding like music to his ears.

"Hiya!", she exclaimed enthusiastically, "Haven't seen you in donkey's years!"

Jellal blinked once, twice, allowing her words to sink in. _What the hell did she mean by 'donkey's years'?_

Apparently the person on the other end of the Internet call told her something funny because she chuckled. "I'm at a restaurant, douchebag," she playfully scolded, "And - no - I do not laze off. I work for the uni, you mindless twat."

Jellal was stunned, completely rooted on the spot as the epiphany hit him right in the middle of his forehead. He felt his blood rushing in two directions; his groin and face.

_She was British._

"God, yes, Biology is a bloody mess after all."

_And she had the sexy British accent too._

If there was something that turned Jellal on more than red hair and freckles, that had to be the English accent.

_Damn. Could she get any more perfect? It was as if she was made for Jellal and only._

"I have three assignments due to next week and then I shall be at your disposal," she said and bowed politely in front of the computer before bursting into chuckles once more. "Good one, mate."

Jellal switched tables, going to one further away from her. _He didn't want her suspecting anything_. Even from afar though, he saw her eyebrows suddenly come together in an agitated scowl and she huffed angrily.

"Will it help if I tell you 'I told you so'?", she asked. The other person must have said something to upset her even more, because she rolled her eyes.

"Don't get shirty with me, Natsu," she growled, "I never liked that bloody hooker you were snogging with from day one so-." She paused as the other spoke but then she chuckled humorlessly, ominously. It was the first time Jellal had ever seen such intense emotion on her face.

"Yes, that's right, she's not a hooker, she's a slut," she hissed, "Natsu, you fuckwit..." The other must have interrupted her again because she scowled some more and opened her mouth multiple times to speak.

"Okay! Okay!", she huffed in the end, "We will meet on Friday and, yes, I'll let you get bladdered. Are you done now?" The other must have agreed because she bit a harsh, "Good."

The call didn't last very long after that, however, it left Jellal's obsession angry and frustrated. _Oh, how much he wanted to go and console her, to ran his fingers through her endless red hair, but that was beyond his role as a mere waiter. _Therefore, he continued with the initial task of getting the tables clean.

Until...

"Pardon me, sir?"

Jellal's head instantly snapped up at the sound of her voice and promptly froze on the spot.

_She was looking straight at him. _

_Hell, she was even speaking to him!_

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! What now?! _

After a few seconds of strenuous efforts to get his brain to function once more, Jellal restarted the ability to move his muscles and with a polite smile plastered on his face, he slowly approached her.

"How may I assist you?", he asked, surprised that his voice sounded relatively normal and not squeaking like a pig. The woman smiled at him, depleting all the air in his lungs, effortlessly frying his brain into a useless crisp.

"Would you be ever so kind to get me another cup of cinnamon tea, please?"

It took another round of awkwardly long seconds for her order to sink into Jellal's brain but managed to nod dumbly before he made a complete fool of himself.

"Coming right up."

He barely registered the quiet "Thank you" he received. His mind was working with miles per millisecond, his heartbeat reaching dangerous levels, his blood roaring in his ears. Fuck, he knew he was smiling like an idiot already, face redder than a tomato too.

_Holy cow. I react like this just because she fucking spoke to me._

Shaking his head in disbelief and disappointment in himself, Jellal walked into the restaurant's main kitchen. _Was that the appropriate reaction of an adult man hitting his twenty four years of age in two weeks?_

"One cinnamon tea," he called to whoever was in there and heard to him. Somebody answered him, a vague voice from the back but of course, Jellal didn't notice anything. His mind was full of red hair and a sweet smile, a smile that melt all of his internal organs to a lame pudding.

_Oh my God almighty. He was so fucking whipped._

**XXXX**

**Thanks for reading, **

**Queen.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I'd like to tell y'all something; I'm extremely busy lately and my updates will slow down _a lot_. So please, I kindly ask you to be patient and don't ask me to update soon because... well, to put it simply, it's not gonna happen. **

**With that said, please enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer; I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.**

**XXXX**

He opened the folder on the mahogany desk and slid the contents on it. Photos. Photos of elders with white hair, long beards and obnoxiously sour faces. But then... _A younger one?_

"Who is this?", he asked his subordinate standing at the other end of the darkly lit room.

"Siegrain, sir."

Black eyebrows reached an equally black hairline. "Surname?"

"Unknown, sir."

"Interesting," he grinned, lifting the picture off the desk to study it further. This guy was remarkable, so mysterious. His face was half-hidden behind a black hood, the only part visible was his mouth.

"Who is The Key holder amongst these people?"

"We're still working on it, sir," the subordinate replied.

"Keep on the good work."

The female subordinate bowed slightly and exited the room quickly, while he swirled around with his chair, grinning to himself.

The Key holder; the person he needed for his plans to be realized.

_Patience... Patience my friend. Everyting will go according to plan._

**XXXX**

Jellal opened the door to his one bedroom apartment and tiredly stumbled inside.

_He was so fucking exhausted._

Right after his obsession had left, his boss Gildarts, had practically begged him on his knees to stay for the night shift as well, because that asshole Loke called out sick. Jellal was so gonna punch the fucker on the dick next time he saw him.

_He had to study damn it!_

Studying in America was never as easy as people described it to be. Jellal had to work his butt off for university - he wanted to become a civil engineer, God bless his courage - and then, work every day to pay the rent and the school. His foster parents were not exactly the richest people in the world and thankfully, with his good grades and super smart brains, Jellal earned himself half a scholarship.

It was twelve fucking o' clock in the night and he had three essays due to next Monday. Albeit he was dead tired, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right? Tossing his keys on the kitchen table, Jellal went straight to the coffee machine and made a double espresso.

_No sleeping tonight. What fucking fun._

Drowning the bitter drink, cringing as it burnt his throat and stung his tongue, Jellal sighed and made his way to his laptop, switching it on and getting to work. He wouldn't have been working twenty minutes when suddenly, loud music blasted through the walls of his apartment, startling him enough to make him jump.

_Fuuuuuuuuuuuck!_

Jellal groaned loudly and smacked his fists on desk. _Again?_

For two months now, almost every night, the apartment right below his put music on loud enough to wake the dead. Jellal could never understand who the hell was so effing insensitive, let alone rude, to play freaking heavy metal music at midnight, on loud speakers so to say. The blunet had even left some notes on the man's door - Jellal assumed that he was a guy because mostly guys enjoyed heavy metal music - however, not only he didn't get a response, but the fucker continued his noise as if nothing had ever happened. It was not that the music was bad but it played loudly and during resting hours.

Jellal could recognize the song in the background, "Master of Puppets" from Metallica. Sooner than he expected, he was nodding in sync with the music, typing the keys with much ease. Yeah, there were also those times that the music wasn't much of a hindrance; more like an inspiration. Jellal stared at his economics essay longingly, brown eyes scanning carefully for mistakes, before he started typing furiously once more.

One hour later, the first draft of the paper was done.

_Yay. The rude neighbor was of good use tonight._

Stretching his back, Jellal groaned in satisfaction at the dull cracking sounds his shoulders and spine made. He saved the essay document, switched the laptop off and headed towards the bathroom for his late shower. The hot water was soothing as it ran down his body in a caressing manner. The blue haired man pushed a hand through his blue I-sometimes-stand-alone hair, slathering it with some random shampoo Urtear had bought for him one day.

_My hair has grown_, he thought to himself while washing off, _Maybe I should get a haircut one of these days._

Speaking of hair, Jellal's treacherous mind strayed towards thoughts of red hair, a cute upturned nose, nut-brown, captivating eyes and he sighed in defeat. He got out of the shower and wrapped his naked body with a fluffy black towel, tiredly walking towards his bedroom.

Not bothering to throw on either pants or underwear - call him weird but Jellal never liked having too many clothes on him - he soon found himself under the warm comforter, thanking every God existed that his obnoxious neighbor had finished his late music sessions.

She invaded his mind again. Damn, he had it bad, seriously; he wanted her, he wanted her so bad but something chained him down and away from her. The way she had spoken to him today, hell, it still made his heart flutter in his chest. Their little conversation had him thinking how that delicious voice of hers would sound at the throes of passion. How she would sound the second she was reaching her peak, while he thrusted into her slim, seemingly fragile body and -

_Jesus Christ. Jellal Fernandes, shut the fuck up and go to sleep already._

He wouldn't though. His mind wouldn't simply hush, his special body parts reacting in ways they shouldn't. It was severely pathetic, the way he acted that is. Why couldn't just simply...?

There was no point in going over the same thing again. The answer was that he just couldn't.

Growling deep in his throat, Jellal rolled on his stomach and snuggled close to his pillow, his breathing progressively evening out. Thankfully the tiredness took over the arousal, however, he drowned into a sleep filled with chocolate brown eyes and the sweetest, brightest smile of all smiles.

**XXXX**

_Friday evening._

Friday night was supposed to be the fun part of the week, when all the university students would go out to various bars or clubs, dance, drink and eventually get laid.

Not Jellal though.

On Fridays, Jellal had the night shift at the restaurant/bar/cafe and he was very much responsible for the drinks. It wasn't much of a bummer though, simply because Jellal loved alcohol and even more, he loved making the drinks. He was also pretty damn good at it. Do not get him wrong; Jellal wasn't a helpless drunk that lived and breathed to soak himself in alcohol, however, he enjoyed drinking one or two, and it had to be a good one.

Although school had been hell on him during the day - and remember that he didn't sleep very much during the night - Jellal was very much hyped up and excited for the customers to arrive.

He was little bit depressed though. He hadn't seen his red haired obsession in the afternoon and that only meant he wouldn't see her up until Monday afternoon. It sucked all sorts of nads because he already missed her.

Hours ticked by, more and more customers invaded the place. It was Jellal's favorite hour; even though he had to work ten times harder to push out the orders, his confidence levels reached their highest. It didn't hurt that most of the women seated on the bar asked for his company or his number, or even treated him some drinks. Jellal knew he looked good in his waiter's black suit uniform and obviously this air of confidence reached his worshippers as well.

But then, suddenly everything stopped; time stilled, as if it flowed in slow motion, a glass slipping between Jellal's fingers and breaking as it hit the floor... _but nevermind that._

At that moment, a tall redhead stepped into the bar, wearing a sexy black dress that clung to her upper body perfectly and although it didn't reveal much of her gorgeous breasts, her defined, soft-looking arms were exposed to all their glory. The rest fell right above her knees carelessly, while black, shiny high heels on stood her feet. Her hair was styled in a sideways, carefully careless braid, her restless brown eyes scanning around the area for someone. Apparently that someone wasn't there yet so she made her way to the bar.

Seriously, Jellal couldn't tear his eyes away. Shit, he couldn't even move from the spot he had grown roots on, mouth hanging open and everything. Her new appearance was so unfamiliar to him, since he would usually see her in blue jeans or sweatpants and T-shirts or plain shirts, that he had to carve that memory in his "masturbation material" section.

Somebody whacked him at the back of his head, startling him enough to make him jump, but effectively pulling him out of his stun. Jellal's head snapped to his right to face a seemingly angry Urtear who was glaring at him, her arms crossed over her breasts.

"Stop breaking the glasses, love-sick idiot," she hissed in his face.

Jellal was completely unfazed, his expression didn't even change when he mumbled a low, "Take care of this section, I'll go over there," and turned on his heel. Urtear shouted something after him but he didn't care, didn't listen. All he wanted was to go as closer as possible to the redhead sitting on the other side of the bar.

Some random guy was already speaking to her when Jellal got around that area. Blue brows marred together in a frown. Even though he didn't particularly like that, he would stay silent for the moment. The random guy then offered to buy her a drink, as much as he could eavesdrop from their conversation and the redhead chuckled uncomfortably.

"Ah, thank you, but I'll have to say no," she rejected him politely with a dazzling smile, "I'm already waiting for someone."

The black haired fucker though wouldn't budge. On the contrary actually, he leaned in closer to her. "Are you sure sweetheart? I mean, a beautiful woman like you should never be alone for too long."

She chuckled nervously, trying to escape from his imposing presence but the other was really obnoxious. At that moment, something inside Jellal snapped and before he could realize what he was doing, he was in front of them, the bar being the only thing holding him from breaking the fucker's bones.

"Excuse me," he interrupted, attracting the attention on him, "The lady already said no, sir. Now, be a true man and skid away like you should."

The brunet glared heatedly at Jellal, standing up from his seat. "Who the fuck you think you are?", he growled threateningly. Jellal however wasn't scared; he could take the asshole down in a blink. He wasn't nearly a pro in boxing and mixed martial arts for nothing.

"Someone who can easily call security and kick you out of this place, if you keep harassing my customers," Jellal retorted with a sweet, professional smile.

"Che," the raven haired male snorted and stood up to leave. "You'll pay for this waiter," he threw over his shoulder.

_I'm shitting bricks_, Jellal wanted to retort but he held his tongue. He shouldn't swear in front of a lady, let alone the lady he had a crush on.

Speaking of which, his eyes went back to the red haired woman and his breath was stolen away from the bright smile she was giving him. "Thank you," she said, "He was getting quite persistent."

Jellal forced a smile back on his face to hide his nervousness and bowed slightly. "No need to thank me," he assured her, looking back into her eyes. "What can I get you? Your wish is my command."

She laughed heartily, the sound stirring all Jellal's insides in a violent but pleasurable way. "And here I thought chivalry was dead in our days," she muttered, mostly to herself. "I'll have one Black Russian. And it better be good."

_She was smirking at him._

_Holy mother of cow._

"Is that a challenge, my lady?", Jellal asked, quirking one eyebrow, supporting his weight on his elbows as he leaned closer to her. Somehow, the previous apprehension was momentarily abated and he was back into his element, more than ever.

She rested her chin on top of her hand, gleaming whiskey eyes boring straight into his, turning all his insides into liquid lava. But what nearly made Jellal catch on fire was what she murmured afterwards, her full lips tilted in a teasing smirk.

"If you fancy challenges, then let it be one."

Their faces were close, too close in Jellal's opinion, and the blue haired man could feel her presence seep through his pores in tidal waves. He so wanted to lean in and kiss those petal pink lips, mere inches from his own but-

"Challenge accepted, Milady," he said, pulling back and turned on his heel. "I will be back the soonest possible."

"I shall wait for you, my knight."

Jellal wanted to scream. He wanted to rip his heart off his chest and stomp mercilessly on it, just to make it stop bouncing around in his chest. His face felt hot and thankfully, he had his back turned at the customers so they wouldn't see him blushing madly and grinning stupidly like he was doing.

She was so sexy, so relentlessly beautiful. And she had flirted with him! Or maybe she was just friendly... No, no, that attitude definitely wasn't friendly!

Jellal swallowed around the excited lump in his throat. _Maybe... Maybe, if he was lucky, he stood a small chance?_

_Get the drink done, get it right, impress her then talk to her. Build your way up. Yeah, it was a plan._

_You can do this, Jellal. You can do this; grow balls, don't blow it big man!_

He was grinning once again, adding the last details to perfect the drink for his dream woman. That smile faltered, however, when he made his way back towards her, his eyes widening. _This couldn't be happening, could it?_

The redhead was stepping into the arms of a...pink haired man? Nevermind that; the man was not too tall, not too short, nicely built with a sleek musculature and the biggest, let alone brightest smile on his face. Aka, sorta charming.

_Now Jellal wanted to shoot himself on the leg._

_Was it possible that he... Was he her boyfriend?_

**XXXX**

**Thanks for reading, **

**Queen.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, it's me again. Thanks a lot for the beautiful reviews on the previous chapter; it means a lot to know that you understand!**

**Also, just clear the small misunderstanding; that raven haired man on the previous chapter was NOT Gray. In fact, he isn't someone from the FT universe, just someone random that popped in my head. Okie? :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. **

**XXXX**

Jellal glanced warily at the pink-haired man that had just dropped his head on the bar with a loud thud. Ever since the man came around, he had been doing nothing else other than drinking and slurring and whining at the redhead seated next to him. Dude was toasted one hundred percent. Jellal had lost the count of how many drinks and shots he had served him.

However, what he was mostly concerned about was the worried look on his obsession's face.

"Natsu," she called, nudging him on the shoulder, "Natsu, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," the other mumbled, "My chest hurts, Scarlet."

For some strange reason, the pink haired man, Natsu, called the woman _Scarlet_. Was that her actual name or just a nickname based on the color of he hair? Jellal was quite unsure.

Oh and another thing; Scarlet and Natsu were simply cousins after all. He had sighed a long sigh of relief when he found out - via eavesdropping nonetheless but hey, he was checking out his competition people.

She patted affectionately his spiky hair, her face soft and worried. "It's okay, Natsu. You'll find the right girl that deserves you, I promise."

"But I want Lucy!", wailed the other loudly, hitting his fist hard on the maroon wood.

_Ah. Love is such a cruel thing sometimes, right?_

"I understand that," she said soothingly, placing her hand over his thrusting one, "But she let you go first, out of her own stupidity and greediness only." A soft drunken sob escaped the man's throat and Scarlet's expression morphed to the one of pain. "Please don't cry; it kills me to see you so sad, mate."

_Jesus Christ, she is so nice. So kind. I want to kiss her._

The other looked up from his hiding place, his eyes wide and watery before he nodded and rubbed one of them. "I sometimes wish you weren't my cousin."

_Huh? What does that suppose to mean?_

Scarlet smiled fondly at him, still petting his head. "I don't think you'd like to be with me. I'm pretty weird myself."

_Heh. What a joke. Who wouldn't want to be with you, my dear angel?_

"No, you're kind and caring, even if yer scary most o'the times...", muttered the other and dropped his head between his arms once more. "What did I do wrong?"

The red haired woman frowned apologetically once more. "Natsu, please. You are absolutely fine, she was the hooker in your relationship."

"Don't call her that."

"But she was!", she exclaimed, "She went all hanky panky with that other guy while she was with you! What does that make her?"

_She has a point, Natsu._

"A slut," the other slurred.

"See?"

Natsu's pink head started to rise again, his dilated brown eyes scanning the place lazily up until they finally fell on Jellal. "Oi, squinty eyes! C'mere!"

Jellal stopped cleaning the crystal glasses and the mental commentary on their conversation, frowning at the rude name he had just been called. _Squinty eyes? What the eff? _He slowly made his way to the drunk customer, rather delighted to see the red-haired woman whack Natsu at the back of his head. "Don't be a twat," she scolded.

"Stop sayin' weird british words," grumbled the other with a confused frown, then his attention went back on Jellal. Before the blunet had the chance to talk, the order was placed. "Gimme another vodka shot."

"No," Scarlet shook her head, "You're not getting another." She gave Jellal a meaningful, pleading look, "The check please, we will take our leave."

"Of course," the blunet nodded and pressed a few buttons on the machine very conveniently situated next to him. Unfortunately though, the pink-haired man wasn't very happy about the breaking news of his and Scarlet's departure.

_Neither was Jellal but that was a whole different subject._

"No!", he shouted angrily, attracting the other customers' unwanted attention, "Lemme drink!"

Scarlet sighed and put some bills into Jellal's chest pocket. She then smiled weakly at him. "Keep the change."

Jellal watched, quite astonished, as she effortlessly hefted the pink haired man and threw one of his hands over her shoulder, supporting his body onto hers. Her balance faltered, Jellal saw that too and before he realized what he was doing, he had untied the apron around his waist and thrown it over to an approaching and confused Urtear, shouting at her to take care of the rest. The woman complained of course but Jellal was far long gone to listen to her ramble.

As quick as a sound wave, he was in front of the redhead and her companion. "Please, I'll help you carry him home."

She shook her head defiantly. "It's okay. You've got work to do."

"I insist," Jellal said sternly and in his utter relief, Scarlet sighed and nodded affirmatively.

"Okay. Thank you."

With no further ado, Jellal threw the pink haired man over both of his shoulders, carrying him in a piggyback while he followed the red-haired woman towards a car.

"Are you sober?", she asked, once Natsu was safe and sound on the back seat. Jellal sighed.

"I've had three or four shots already."

She nodded. "I'll drive then."

They all drove to Natsu's house in perfect silence. Jellal took the seat right next to her and he couldn't help his eyes which strayed more than once every few minutes on her face. He knew it wasn't the right time to make his move but he was so used to watching her from afar that he wanted to take advantage of their sudden proximity. She was so painfully gorgeous; the freckles on her face were much more visible in the dim light, eyes focused solely on the road in front of them, her full lips pressed in a thin line. Jellal couldn't tell if she was worried or angry so he stayed silent not to disturb her.

What he also noticed was that she was driving in a really, really slow pace. _Was she a new driver?_

"Excuse me," he said, clearing his throat, "No disrespect or anything but... Why are we going so slow?"

She glanced at him with the corner of her eyes and chuckled in amusement. _What? Had he said something funny?_

"Natsu has an extreme case of motion sickness," she cut Jellal off as soon as he had opened his mouth to speak - apologize - again, "He is bladdered too. I don't want him honking all over the car."

"Oh," Jellal mumbled lamely in understanding, his eyes fixating on the road once more. Well that made sense. Even though he wasn't the one who barfed as soon as someone else barfed, Jellal was sure he didn't want to clean the mess Drunk Natsu would leave on his wake.

_Damn it._ There was that silence between them again. No, it wasn't awkward or anything; it was rather calm and soothing, to be totally honest. It just wasn't enough. Jellal was literally _craving_ to talk to her, to start a conversation about everything and nothing, just for the sake of listening to her melodic, sweet voice at his heart's content, yet he didn't really know how to get them going.

He was also worried about another thing:_ Would he have another chance like this one?_

While Jellal had his inner debate, the redhead had pulled over in front of a large building and she was briskly exiting the car. Following suit, Jellal was out and with Scarlet's help, Natsu was once more on his shoulders, mumbling something unintelligible in his sleep.

_The stupid idiot had fallen asleep. _

Jellal followed his woman in an elevator towards the fifth floor and then they took a short, silent walk to the apartment seventy two. She expertly fished Natsu's keys from the man's ass pocket and unlocked the apartment's door, the unfortunate action having both him and Scarlet cringe and groan in disgust. There was a horrific smell resonating from the apartment, strong and kinda rotten, violently assaulting their nostrils.

_Holy shit. Natsu lived in that junk?_

"Oh my God almighty," the redhead mumbled in a state of shock, as she hesitantly stepped into the hazardous area, "I'll have to call the cleaning lady."

"Are you sure that the cleaning lady will agree to even come near this mess?", Jellal asked sarcastically, carefully not to stomp onto some kind of strange, green mush plastered on the door's mat.

Scarlet laughed heartily and shook her head. "Good one, mate."

_Ah, his heart. Please, someone stop it or else she'll hear it._

Thankful that the redhead didn't seem to hear his heart jumping enthusiastically in his chest, Jellal followed his obsession to where had to be Natsu's bedroom. _That place was somehow cleaner than the rest of the house._

"Drop him off to bed and make sure he is on his stomach," she instructed.

Jellal nodded and smiled internally, while placing Natsu on the bed, on his stomach. The pink haired drunk groaned and snuggled closer to his pillow.

"I'll fetch some meds. You stay here," Scarlet said and quickly exited the room, missing the longing brown eyes glued on her back. Jellal sighed in defeat and waited, deciding that it was a good distraction to study the messy room; although it wasn't as dirty as the living room, it was still messy as hell. Clothes and underwear were thrown all over the place, forgotten glasses with some strange looking liquid inside, dirty plates, cans of beer and coca cola...

"It really is a junk in here, isn't it?", a soft voice suddenly spoke from his left, startling the hell out of him. Scarlet smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry I startled you."

"No, it's fine," Jellal assured her, willing his heart to stop tap-dancing on his tongue.

The red haired woman nodded and placed two Tylenols and a glass of water on the bedside table, next to the sleeping man. "You'll need these when you wake up, you hear me, twat?" She ruffled affectionately his hair with a kind smile before she finally stood up and turned to Jellal.

"Let's go."

They were soon out of the messy apartment, after he and Scarlet gathered all of the dirty clothes into a pile, while she folded the clean ones neatly, and they quietly made their way to the exit of the main building. Once outside, Scarlet stopped and turned to look at Jellal with a smile that left him breathless.

"So," she began, "Thank you very much."

"Don't sweat it." It was supposed to sound cool, manly, maybe a little dominating. It sounded weak and pathetic instead. _Damn, what was she doing to him?_

"I am going that way," she said and motioned with her hand towards the road right behind her, "I bid you farewell."

"Do you seriously expect me to let you walk home alone?", Jellal asked incredulously, quirking an eyebrow. Scarlet simply stared at him in confusion, saying nothing. That was kinda odd. "What?", Jellal asked, now feeling a little nervous, "Is it bad?"

"You don't have to get out of your way," she mumbled, averting her gaze onto the ground, shifting nervously on her feet. "I know how to get there."

Jellal rolled his eyes and snorted but internally he was crooning loudly at how cute she looked like this. "I am a gentleman. I never let a lady walk home all by herself." He stepped closer to her, motioning towards the way. "Besides, my house is on this way too," he added.

It wasn't a lie. His apartment really was towards that way.

Scarlet nodded numbly and followed him without any more remarks. She was silent for a long while, staring at the pavement with a blank expression that made Jellal's skin crawl from the nervousness. She was so damned unfathomable, he couldn't read her at all. _What was she thinking? Was she mad? Confused? Shy? What?_

"We never introduced ourselves," she said suddenly, finally looking up at him with a nervous smile, "I'm Erza Scarlet." She offered her delicate hand at him and in his pleasantly surprised state, without realizing it, Jellal grasped the soft appendage and brought it to his lips, kissing the top.

_Erza. _

_Erza._

_Erza... _

_Yeah, he definitely liked that name._

_Plus, Scarlet was her surname after all. How oddly fitting, especially with her hair._

"Pleasure to meet you, Erza," he said, allowing his lips to brush over soft skin, "I'm Jellal Fernandes."

"Jellal?", she asked and pulled her hand away, her cheeks a little redder than before, "That's an odd name, I've never heard it before."

"It is pretty odd, isn't it?", he smiled, hoping that the seizures of his heart weren't showing on his face in the form of an embarrassing blush. She had called him by his name, people. How did you expect he would react? Thank the Gods he wasn't sporting a boner already.

"I-I didn't mean it in a bad way," she adorably stuttered and Jellal swore he was ready to just eat her, "It's the good kind of odd..."

"Yeah, I know," he grinned from ear to ear. He was literally holding himself from tackling her to the ground. _She was so freakishly cute!_ "I'm not offended or anything, so don't worry so much."

She nodded and looked back down on the pavement, "Oh okay. That's-That's good."

"I thought your name was Scarlet in the beginning," Jellal continued, not willing to have her stop talking, "But it seems I was mistaken."

"Natsu generally calls me by my surname," she explained, her tone amused, "Depends on his moods. Most people call me Erza though."

Jellal had to chuckle at that. "Well, your full name certainly suits you, that's for sure."

Erza smiled playfully at him and touched her blushing cheeks with both hands. "Be quiet, you're making me blush."

"Why? I'm just honest," Jellal assured her confidently. Inside of him however, he could feel his heart getting stabbed by merciless arrows coming from a sadistic and very excited Cupid.

She was so cute when she smiled at him like this. "Thanks, I guess."

_If this was a dream, please don't wake him up._ _He would murder anyone who dared to destroy this sudden ray of bliss._

Jellal was literally crossing all his fingers and toes, praying that what he was experiencing right now wasn't some kind of a game his mind had conjured up to mock him. Erza - finally, she had a name! - was actually very adorable compared to the stoic and serious aura she usually gave off. Jellal rarely saw her smile and right now she was smiling shyly at him, as if she was provoking him to ravish her.

It was true; he wanted to ravish her. He wanted to make her scream until her throat went sore, he wanted to make her speak in a different language, a language that didn't even exist preferably.

Jellal shook his head to clear it from the dirty thoughts. _No, he didn't want to do just that. She deserved much more than that._ She seemed like a girl who needed to be treated nicely, with love and care and as much as sexually frustrated he was, he was willing to suppress his inner desires, if one asked him to.

_When was the last time he got laid, anyway?_

_Uuh..._

"I am really sorry my cousin was such a burden on you," she suddenly spoke up, pulling him out of his musings. He looked at her, baffled for a few seconds before her words sunk in.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he shrugged, "Though I must say that he is quite a handful when he is drunk."

She cracked a dazzling, sideways grin. "He's a handful when sober as well."

Jellal laughed heartily. Once he sobered up though, he continued with another question that gad been boggling his mind for a while now. Not that he didn't have an idea already but eh. "If I may ask, why was he drinking so much?"

Erza sighed in defeat and rubbed her hand over her face. "He was getting stroppy because his babe cheated on him with one of his colleagues at work," she explained casually.

Jellal was confused. _Well excuse him for not understanding British English! He was a pure blooded American for God's sake. _"What do you mean, stroppy?", he asked curiously.

Erza laughed but blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I tend to forget that people do not understand my British vocabulary," she apologized with a weak smile, "Stroppy means that he was upset and irritable."

"Oh," Jellal exclaimed, feeling a little dump nevertheless, "I-I see."

"So, that's why he got plastered. He's really a baby sometimes."

"Maybe he loved her a lot," Jellal muttered with a nonchalant shrug.

"He did. He really did," Erza said with a defeated sigh. "That's why I hate that bimbo."

Jellal nodded in agreement, not really sure of what else to say. Actually, he didn't know if it was his position to say anything more other than agree with her. _Because he did agree with her. Cheating is unforgivable and stung like a motherfucker._

However, Erza didn't seem willing to stop just yet. "I mean," she continued with a little more heat, "Your babe is yours and only, not someone else's... Am I the only one to believe this anymore?"

"No," Jellal said quietly, "I agree with you. What she did wasn't alright at all."

"She's obnoxious," Erza hissed angrily, "An annoying, too full of herself bimbo."

"So you're a possessive one?", Jellal asked, somehow amused by her aggressive attitude. _It was cute. Like a kitten trying to roar._

"Heck yeah," she said as a matter of factly, scowling up at Jellal, "My man is mine and only. I'll kill whoever tries to take him from me and I'll castrate him if he ever cheats on me."

Jellal sucked his teeth and shook his head. "That's a little violent, don't you think?"

"I'll make it look like an accident," she assured him, with a small but nonetheless playful smile.

Jellal out right laughed. She was serious when needed to but she had a seriously awesome sense of humor. Much like his own, cynical one.

"Why you laughing? Don't you agree with me?", she asked in fake shock. He smirked at her.

"I'll carry the bodies," Jellal offered and his chest swelled with male pride when she giggled, the little sounds cheerful and cute.

"I really like you, mate," she said, patting his shoulder friendly, "It's rare to find a man that understands my mentality so well."

"I'll take that as a complement, _mate_," Jellal teased.

They kept talking like this, freely, as if they knew each other for years. Jellal was happy, so incredibly happy and absorbed into the woman's little smiles and talks that he didn't realize they had walked into the building _he_ was currently staying, until they were inside the elevator.

He jumped in surprise, blinking as he took in his surroundings.

"What's the matter?", Erza asked him, curious.

"You live here?"

She quirked one curious, red eyebrow. "Yes... Why?"

_How was that possible?_ She... She had been here the whole time, living in a radius closer than a hundred meters from him, yet he hadn't... Noticed her existence? There had to be some kind of explanation. It was impossible that they had never bumped on each other, not even accidentally.

Jellal gaped at the redhead for a few seconds before blinking his way into consciousness. "I live here too," he mumbled, "And I've never seen you around."

Brown eyes widened, her mouth opened slack and everything. "Seriously?", she asked.

"Yeah," he breathed, not knowing what else to say or do. Neither did Erza, but that was only for a short while.

"Bloody hell," she sighed, staring at him in shock, "This world is so bloody small."

"Damn. That small?", Jellal mumbled, just as dazed as she was.

"Seems so."

They went silent after that, each one focused on their own thoughts. It was fucking unbelievable. How... How was it possible that they had never seen each other before? And to say that Jellal simply walked around with his head in the clouds, not noticing the world around him wasn't an one hundred percent true statement. _What about Erza though?_ She would have shown some sort of recognition if she had seen him before right? Like, this was what normal people did. It seemed as if she too hadn't seen him before in her life.

Jellal didn't snap out of his musings up until a soft "Bing!" tickled his ears. _Second_ _floor. One floor below his apartment. _That was so absurd he wanted to laugh like a possessed hyena. Not willing to scare his crush away so early in the game, he instead let Erza step out first and followed her with both his eyes and legs until he had a very sudden and very intense flash of déjà vu.

_He'd been down the same road before._

It suddenly dawned on him and he froze on the spot. _Shit. He'd been here before, this very morning in fact, when he went to-_

"Ah," Erza sighed in defeat, picking up a small, rectangular paper from her door mat, "It seems that I've made myself unpopular again." She huffed in agitation and crumbled the small paper into her palm. "I have to apologize this time."

Jellal watched in utter shock as the small memo he'd left on the doormat of apartment 21 in the morning before he left being destroyed by the hands of the woman's he was obsessed with. _So this meant that the loud, obnoxious "guy" living just below his apartment... is her?_

_Just how many surprises do you think I can handle in one day, Universe?, _he thought to himself dryly.

"I-it's okay," he stuttered, feeling totally embarrassed, awkward and bad for how many times he had hoped she would just move out, "You don't have to apologize."

She gave him an incredulous stare before she chuckled. "It is the third time this note has reached me. I can tell that it is the same person by the handwriting. I've received from other neighbors as well." She smiled sympathetically. "He or she is the politest one."

As much as her smile made Jellal's insides flutter excitedly, there were two things bothering him; one: did she distinguish between their handwrittings? And two: how could he tell her that he was the one to write these notes? What if she got mad? What if she got upset?

_You know what Jellal_, he mentally scolded, _You're a man. If there's shit to be cleared up, you gotta do it. Stop being a weenie, for God's sake. _He shifted nervously on his feet, thinking of the correct words to say, to inform her that he was the one to...

"I left the note," he finally sighed. _There. He said it. _But he still couldn't really meet her gaze; he simply stared off to a random direction above her head. Erza raised one fine, red eyebrow, wordlessly asking for further explanation and Jellal clicked his tongue nervously before he spoke again.

"I live right above you," he explained, "A-And I sometimes, when I try to study or sleep, you play music loudly...It distracts me. Not that I don't like the music, it's just that-"

"Jellal," Erza cut him off efficiently, her brown eyes dancing with amusement, "I understand, don't get so flustered over nothing."

"Still, I just wanna make sure you... You're not offended or anything," the blunet muttered, scratching the back of his head. Erza stared at him for a couple of seconds before she tipped her head back and her adorable laughter caressed his ears all over again, making his tense body relax.

"God, you're so adorable, mate!", she giggled behind her closed fist.

Jellal sighed in relief. He'd been so worried. Worried that she'd get mad at him and the good start he had made with her would go to waste. But, once again, he was mistaken. Erza was cool with it - she was cool in general - and she didn't seem to mind one bit. Actually she looked more amused than anything. _Plus, she had just claimed that he was adorable. _

_Stahp this torture, please. Or I'll eat her right now._

_She had used his first name again, too. _Jellal wanted to shiver, to pick her up, wrap her long legs around his middle and kiss her stupid. He liked the way it rolled off her tongue. He wished to know how she would sound while he made her tremble and scream and see stars. How would his name roll off her mouth then?

_One couldn't help but wonder. _

"Seriously, don't worry," Erza spoke again, her soft voice forcing Jellal to push his naughty thoughts temporarily away or else she would become very familiar with his buddy, little Jellal, "I should be the one explaining myself, not you."

"But-"

"Shush," she scolded and took a deep breath, before looking into Jellal's eyes. She was so serious and adorable at the same time. "I apologize that I disturbed your studying and your sleep," she added earnestly, "I had never such intentions in the fist place. It's just that I tend not to realize on the spot that my actions can actually annoy someone else. I act on impulse and that's a very bad habit of mine. I'll... I'll work on it okay?"

"It's-it's okay," Jellal said, scratching the back of his head again, "It's not a bad thing to be impulsive. If not awesome, it sure makes you a very interesting fellow."

She snickered, the chocolate brown of her eyes molten and dancing playfully. "I'm way too spontaneous then."

"I like that about you," he blurted without realizing. He only realized it when Erza's ears turned pink around the edges. _Aw, seriously__ now? _Jellal wished he could just shut his big mouth, to bite that tongue of his off. Not only his statement was creepy as hell but it also made his crush blush like there was no tomorrow and avert her gaze. Aka, it made her uncomfortable. Jellal wanted her to be as comfortable as possible around him. Comfortable enough to take her clothes off and be naked and-

_Jellal. Stop. Now. Seriously. Don't do this to yourself. You sound like a deprived pervert._

"Thanks... I guess," she muttered shyly. Jellal could feel his face getting hotter and hotter by every passing minute.

"Hn," he grunted uncomfortably.

"I'll... I'll see you around then," she said with a small smile. Jellal grinned nervously too.

"I live a few stairs above after all."

"Heh. Yes," she agreed and opened her purse. Once the keys were in her hands, she looked up back at Jellal. "Thanks again for today, Jellal."

_There it goes again_. Seriously, whenever Erza was around him, there should be an ambulance stand-by to resuscitate his heart. Those eyes of hers made it skid a great many of necessary beats.

Jellal smiled. _Damn it, he was a love sick idiot but eh, he loved every single moment of it._

"Don't mention it."

**XXXX**

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.**

**XXXX**

_A week later._

Jellal was slowly eating his dinner, a piece of the homemade strawberry cheesecake Erza had brought when she unexpectedly came over around lunch time, and just the mere reminiscing of it, had the blunet grinning like a goofy idiot. But he was alright with it, after so many inner debates. He had been serious his entire life; time to get silly.

Back to the point though; him and Erza had been bumping on each other more often than not the past few days. It made Jellal giddy and cringe at the irony. So, why on earth hadn't they met before their official meeting? What kind of a cosmic joke was that?

Erza had also minimized the loud heavy metal music at inappropriate hours. She instead discovered her hidden passion for cooking and baking because almost every day, she would come around and bring or make Jellal something to eat. Good news? He didn't have to cook. He hated cooking because he was really bad at it. Even when he followed the recipes. Bad news? Of course there were bad news; he was horny two-three times a day. Well, a hot girl walking around in his kitchen with her cute apron on, preparing stuff and cooking him lunch had to be most men's heaven. Jellal's as well.

There was one other thing that had Jellal thinking he was dreaming with his eyes open; Erza had apparently taken a friendly liking on him because she sought him out a lot. No, not only for the food; in general. One day she had asked him if he knew how to sew and to teach her, the other she wanted sugar, the other some salt and that very morning, she had asked for a movie suggestion to watch. And there, Jellal's dilemma arose; was she flirting with him or was she not? Like, all her actions so far showed that she was interested but she wasn't the girly-bubbly-flirty type Jellal was so accustomed to. The redhead was serious as a heart attack, a smile rarely on her lips but she always smiled when Jellal was around. Why was that? He couldn't read her at all.

His conflicted thoughts came to abrupt end as soon as his doorbell rang. He jumped in astonishment, the spoon falling from his fingers and unceremoniously clanking on the empty plate. Who the hell was at that hour? Well, not someone he couldn't take, if he was in a pinch, but violence was his last option. Almost always.

Jellal stood up from his chair, dragged his feet to the door, hating his apartment again for not having a peeping hole, and carefully opened it. The sight that greeted him had his blood flooding into two directions; groin and face, the latter nearly leaking off his nose.

"Erza?", he croaked in shock.

The redhead cracked a small smile, shifting on her legs. "Hey mate," she said, "Sorry I bother you so late."

The blunet's jaw opened and closed many times as he tried, he really tried to convince himself that this was a dream; it couldn't be true. Impossible. It had to be one of these wet dreams of his. Yup. There was no way, no way Erza was at his doorstep, wearing nothing but a man's shirt that reached her mid thigh, her miles long, pale legs displayed in abundance.

_Nope. No. Not true at all._

"It's okay," he muttered, after he cleared his throat, "I wasn't sleeping or anything."

"Okay," the woman smirked and shrugged playfully, "So, can I ask you for a favor?"

_Can you please stay in my bed forever?_ "Sure."

Erza hid both her hands behind her back, the innocent action still had Jellal seeing stars all over again. She wasn't wearing a bra. She wasn't. That's right, and he could see her nipples through the thin fabric. Take a moment to appreciate this, people. He could actually see her nipples, one of the more sensual and erotic parts on a woman's body. And he was literally dying to reach out with his hands, cup those pieces of art she called her breasts and run his fingers over those tawny jewels.

_Lord, have some mercy. How much could his poor, craving soul handle?_

"Can I borrow some milk?", asked the impersonation of torturous desire, "I wanted to make some hot chocolate but I realized I had no milk."

Jellal managed to force a smile on his face, motioning towards his house politely. Erza came in without an objection, the messy space already familiar to her. "Can't sleep?", asked Jellal on his way to the kitchen, trying to get his dick in place. Shit, this was really tricky; he was really horny. He had been super horny the whole week and he had her around dressed, but now that she was all naked, with just a pair of panties and a shirt, his man down low was seriously going stiff. Jellal was almost sure that Erza wouldn't be very comfortable if he walked around with his boner bigger and harder than the tower of Pisa.

"I don't like sleeping," Erza chuckled. That, attracted Jellal's attention enough to make him crane his head and frown at his crush.

"What do you mean you don't like sleeping?", he asked incredulously, "It's not that you chose to do it."

The red-haired girl snickered again. "Well, I have insomnia for years now. So I don't really sleep at nights."

Blue eyebrows blended with an equally blue hairline. "At all?"

"Well, very little. About three hours every other night."

Jellal couldn't believe his ears, his libido and the milk forgotten. "Aren't you supposed to be takin' medication for it?"

"Sometimes...", she smiled sweetly at him, however, that smile made uncomfortable chills ran up and down his spine, "...it is better if you don't sleep."

Her words rang in his ears ominously, the sound familiar enough to make his body shudder. He knew about sleepless nights. He knew why would someone choose not to sleep at night. Nightmares, was the reason. Those muddled up pictures, blood, pain... Fuck, so much pain, anguish, torture... A little boy screaming, needles, doctors, whips and chains... And you know what's the worst part? When sleep was gone. The moment it is over and the lingering terror subsides, but deep inside, the soul knows that those nightmares were true once. But the mind... The mind doesn't remember.

_It chose to forget._

"Jellal?", a soft voice called his name, making him jump out of his musings quite literally. Erza was staring at him, curious and worried at the same time, her brown eyes searching. "What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost."

Trying to get himself to stop shivering like a brittle leaf, Jellal took a deep breath and smiled forcefully again. "It's alright," he lied, "I get what you say... So, you need milk?"

The redhead eyed him suspiciously before her body visibly relaxed and she sighed. "Yeah," she said, "I promise I'll buy you a new carton tomorrow."

Jellal chuckled. "No need, sweetie," he assured her, pulling open the door of the fridge, searching for what he wanted, "I'll go for groceries tomorrow."

"Really?", she exclaimed, her pretty face lightening up, "Want to go together? Because I'm going too!"

The blunet found the carton and passed it over to his crush with a smile. Going for groceries together sounded so domestic and cute it made Jellal wanna vomit and do the happy dance at the same time. Well, at least he would spend some time with Erza, which was always pleasant, and maybe get to know her a little better. He still knew almost nothing about her. Damn, that girl was so secretive it blew his mind and turned him on, erhm- intrigued him too.

"Sure," he said, chuckling in amusement when she cheered, "But don't start buying me things, I'll get mad."

"Oh, come on, don't be such a kill joy!", she whined, playfully punching his chest. That kinda hurt actually and it surprised Jellal, even though he didn't show. Just how strong was this woman?

"We should go in the morning," he suggested, "Because they run out of all the good stuff in the afternoon.

"Okay," Erza nodded, "How early?"

"Eight?"

"Sure."

"I take the bus," Jellal added, stretching and yawning tiredly, "Unless you know a faster way."

Erza grinned and shrugged, "Nah, not really," she muttered, shifting on her legs and attracting Jellal's eyes back on them. Jesus Christ. They were so perfect. Long and toned, creamy white too... Gah, he just wanted those two pieces of fine art around his waist for life.

"So...", the redhead said again, snapping him out of his naughty thoughts, "I should get going. I don't wanna waste your beauty sleep."

"Heh," the blunet chuckled, following het towards the door, "I wouldn't sleep for another half hour. Hafta clean the house."

"Hmm I guess so," she hummed and opened the door herself. Then she turned around and smiled up at Jellal who hadn't realized how close they were until her beautiful scent filled his nose.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow mate. Sweet dreams."

Jellal mentally snorted. _Yeah. Sweet dreams._ "You too," he said, slowly closing the door behind her, "See you tomorrow."

He didn't sleep for at least one hour. Instead, he moved around in the apartment, picking up after his mess, cursing himself for being so damned messy. Okay, he was a man but his lady was coming over, most of the times unannounced, however he should be prepared at all times. Erza didn't seem to mind though; as a matter of fact, Jellal had apologized for his tornado-striken apartment and Erza laughed at him, saying, "Hard-working people don't clean. They are too busy studying."

It made sense, it made a lot of sense considering that Jellal was pretty much all day hidden behind a book or his laptop, but that didn't make him feel any better. You see, the blunet didn't want his woman to think he was a slob, because he wasn't. Erza on the other hand, look completely unfazed but then again, she was Erza and Erza was unreadable.

All of these innocent, simple thoughts died instantly in his head, anxiety taking their place as soon as he heard his printer gurgle. The machine didn't work. It was broken ever since he could remember himself, the person before him didn't throw it away and Jellal had been too lazy to do the honors. But there were a few times, scarce, hated times that this machine worked. And it only meant one thing.

A message from _them_.

Jellal stopped everything he was doing and walked to the ominous looking device, a white sheet of paper with a bunch of words typed on it. He lifted it up, allowing the very few words to sink into his brain before his stomach twirled in discomfort.

_Lord Siegrain_, began the short sentence and the formality made Jellal roll his eyes.

_ All members of The Council humbly request your presence at the upcoming, important meeting. There are some urgent matters to be discussed._

_Kind regards,_

_Second Seat, Org._

_Ah, _he mentally sighed. What the hell had happened in order for Jellal, the Head of the Council, to be summoned out of the blue like this? And after all that fuss he had created six months prior, because he didn't to get involved with this shit, unless it was only via monthly letters under his door, summaries of the cases he was responsible for...

Jellal pushed his fingers through his hair and sighed dejectedly. It had to be something important. He just hoped it wasn't too important. The blunet wasn't in the mood for any more adventure in his life, he had enough...

But that's another story.

**XXXX**

**To be continued.**


End file.
